Ask Me Again
by Lacrimosa Cruentus Luna
Summary: Justin and Valentino's thoughts at the end of "One Night." A tiny drabble.
1. Valentino

**I read OzQueen's "Breathe" a long time ago way before I saw "One Night" so when I actually saw the episode, I _needed_ to read it again. While I was looking for it, the final scene between Valentino and Justin started and I decided I had to write something about it myself, even if it was just a really quick drabble. So I rewatched the scene. And then I rewatched it again. And again. And again. Then my dad got kind of freaked out so I had to stick with what I had. I guess no one really needed to know that, but...oh forget it. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Cold Case...no. I don't even want to go there. Let's just stick with a simple I-don't-own-Cold Case. **

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><p>The lady cop—he's pretty sure her name is Miller—keeps her hand on his arm as she walks him toward where she says Justin is. And not Justin's dead body, but a living, breathing, more-than-slightly-traumatized Justin. There's a part of his mind that wonders why she feels the need to do this, to touch him, but Valentino's mostly thinking of Justin, of his face when he talked about fields and horses and his mom and did Valentino want to come, too?<p>

_Ask me again._

Will he ask? Because if Justin asks him again, Valentino knows what he'll say.

Then Valentino can see Justin wrapped in the blue blanket, lights from the ambulance flashing across his face as they stare at each other. There's a pause that lasts for only a second because Valentino needs to _know_ that Justin is there and not buried in a hole, dying or dead. His eyes have lied to him before, but the feeling of flesh beneath his hands never has.

He tears away from the lady cop, the one who said so gently, "He had you."

But Justin still has him and Valentino's pretty sure that the barely-there smile he receives means that Justin knows it. He could be wrong, but he hopes he's right.

_The truth is, I met Justin two weeks ago. Barely knew the kid. _

That's what he said and he said it so easily, but it doesn't feel like the truth, not when he steps forward and reaches out to touch Justin on the shoulder, but finds himself wrapping his arms around the other boy instead, like someone else is going to try stealing him away.

_Horses in the field. That's where I'm going. Want to come?_

_Ask me again. _

Valentino's a little bit worried that he's going to start crying like Justin is, but he manages to keep himself as he presses their foreheads together, as he pulls Justin a little bit closer and takes in a shaky breath. He knows now: Justin really is alive.

He knows the cops are watching. He feels their eyes. For a moment he wonders if Justin feels them, too. But it doesn't matter to either one of them, not right now. It doesn't matter what the cops—or anyone else—sees or hears or thinks. Maybe it will later, once Valentino can put his thoughts together properly, but he doesn't care about the future.

Or does he?

_Ask me again. _

Valentino doesn't say it. He's smart enough to know that now is quite possibly the most shitty timing to say anything of the sort, to even think about fields and horses and other happy things. Very shitty timing.

So he won't.

But that's okay because Valentino knows that it will happen someday.

Someday (even if he doesn't know when that day is right now), Valentino will say, "Ask me again," over a pack of cigarettes.

Justin will take a long drag of his and exhale the smoke to the sky (the sky he probably thought he'd never see again) before turning his eyes to Valentino. And then Justin will ask, "Want to come?"

And Valentino won't even pretend to think about it this time. This time he'll just say, "Yes."


	2. Justin

**This was supposed to be a one-shot, but I had a dream that I was trapped in a Chinese food take-out box so...**

**Disclaimer: In the past...I dunno...sixteen hours that I last updated, I haven't gotten ownership of Cold Case.**

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><p>He thought that a box had four sides. He doesn't know why he ever thought that, but it doesn't matter now because now Justin knows that a box has six sides. He also knows that the sixth side is the top, the worst one, the one that closes you into the darkness.<p>

He won't be able to go to a zoo ever again. Hell, Justin is pretty sure he won't be able to look at a cereal box again. And all of that hurts him, but it isn't what hurts the most.

_Me and her._

That's what he said when The Bad Man pushed and prodded and pried the truth out of him. The field had belonged to Justin and his mother, to the happy days.

But now the field is tainted.

As the medics surround him, wrapping a blanket around his freezing body and shoving oxygen down his throat, Justin feels like he's trapped again. He can still see the sky, but he's being crushed by all the people who just want to help. He wants to push them away, but he doesn't have the strength for it. He's too tired, so damn tired.

And then the crowd breaks apart, turning to look at someone. It's a blond cop who looks relieved to see him alive. She almost smiles and Justin almost smiles back.

But Justin is still remembering the feeling of being forced back into the light just when he was so sure that he was going to die. He will always remember.

Justin's field is still ruined.

He has to turn away.

He turns and he sees Valentino, being guided towards him by another cop. He feels like he's running out of air all over again, but this time it isn't so bad.

Thoughts of The Bad Man and being shoved into darkness vanish, replaced by how soft Valentino's eyes had been when he said, "Ask me again."

_Ask me again._

Justin wishes he could, but he doesn't know how. All the same, Valentino starts walking faster and Justin feels himself smile faintly because they're both here. Valentino is here. It's a terribly weak smile, but it's something and that's the important part, right?

Suddenly, Valentino is right in front of him, reaching for him, invading the space he so desperately wanted when the medics were there. Now, Justin finds he doesn't really mind.

Justin thinks Valentino is just going to touch his shoulder, so he's surprised when he wraps his arms around him.

In the end, that's what breaks him. He promised himself that he wouldn't be weak, wouldn't cry in front of people the day after his mom's funeral. But Valentino is here and he can't forget that so he thinks that being weak is okay for now.

So Justin closes his eyes and lets the tears come. He keeps his eyes closed when Valentino tightens his hold and Justin prays that he isn't just hallucinating in his prison when he feels the light brush of Valentino's hair against his face before skin is pressed against skin.

He can't be hallucinating.

Valentino is warm and Justin cracks open his eyes just the tiniest bit. Valentino is staring right at him.

He almost expects his eyes to say what Justin doesn't think he can do:

_Ask me again._

But they don't. That's not what his eyes are saying at all.

_You have me_.

That's the message Justin is getting. He already knew that, but the reassurance is always nice to have.

And then Justin realizes something: he and Valentino were never made for this field, for the horses. Not ever. This field belonged to Justin and his mother and now it belongs to The Bad Man, but Justin wasn't ever planning on coming back _here_. He was just going back to happy days.

When Valentino knows Justin is ready, he'll say, "Ask me again."

And Justin _will_ ask him again, but it'll be to a different place, a different field.

_Me and him_.

They'll find their own field, even if it isn't a field at all. It will belong to Justin and Valentino.

But they'll have to wait a little bit longer and Valentino isn't asking him that yet.

_You have me. _

_I know. _


End file.
